This summer, the movie theater became my sanctuary. How else can someone ignore their email inbox flooded with messages from LinkedIn reminding them that all their connections had wonderful internships while they were doing a whole lot of nothing? A few hours of gorging on faux-buttered popcorn and sucking down an Icee while kicking my feet in an air-conditioned AMC did the trick.

It also helped that the summer’s theatrical lineup was some of the best in a long time: from the surprising heart-tugger “The Sheep Detectives” to Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which could only be seen in IMAX 70mm or else a horde of film bros with foaming mouths would hunt you down. But for a huge nerd like myself, the particular standouts were the releases of “Supergirl” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

Both movies were love stories in their own right — Kara Zor-El and Peter Parker, after wallowing in their own loneliness and uncertainty, finally let themselves fall in love with the people who ultimately led them to discover their true purpose as heroes and embrace the shoulders they were given to lean on.

“Supergirl” follows Kara (Milly Alcock) as she struggles to lay down roots after being forced to leave her dying home planet, Krypton, and sent to Earth to watch over her baby cousin Kal-El, later known as Clark Kent and Superman (David Corenswet). But after getting stuck in the Phantom Zone, Kara is met on Earth by a 30-year-old superhero Clark, who insists, “You’ll also learn to love this place just like I have.”

However, instead of donning the super suit like her cousin, Kara spends her time drinking and spending time with her dog, Krypto. And, despite being asked by young Ruthye (Eve Ridley) to help avenge her slaughtered family — an event that parallels her own history — Kara only springs into action when Krypto’s life is put at risk by the same man.

My initial reaction to “Supergirl” was “Kara Zor-El gets it.” As a similarly messy 20-year-old chud who loves her dog, the lack of purpose was relatable, to say the least. Being home from college can be isolating, especially after two chaotic semesters with little to no time to think. When the summer silence eventually snuck up on me, the inability to walk into the next room and bother my roommates was more obvious than ever.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” similarly appealed to me. Peter (Tom Holland) is broke, friendless and a workaholic, the way Stan Lee in the ’60s intended. He struggles to take care of himself and let go of his loved ones who no longer remember him.

He watches the world pass him by as his former best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) graduate from MIT and follow through with the plans they had initially made together in high school. He also makes no effort to reveal his forgotten identity to MJ, as he had promised. Peter lets himself be beaten down by both himself and life, which was like looking into a mirror during my evil summer.

And yet, by the end of the films, I felt hopeful.

Kara recognizes that Ruthye will end up in a position similar to herself if she does not intervene. She embraces her ability to help others as well as their willingness to be there for her. Peter undergoes a similar change when he offers his friendship to Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), who threatens to spiral beyond redemption after learning of her sister’s death. He also reaches out to new people like Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) and reconnects with his old loved ones.

Superheroes, despite having extraordinary powers and living fantastical lives, have always resonated with ordinary people because of their human necessity to connect, even to those without superpowers. Despite being the pinnacle of strength, independence and self-sufficiency, even the most capable cannot fully be themselves without the help and support of others.

This wasn’t a revolutionary lesson by any means, but during the peak of missing my college friends and isolating myself from my hometown friends, it was nice to be reminded that I should reach out and would be received with familiarity and love.

Kara tells Clark that she’s “gonna stay a while this time;” Peter tells Aunt May’s grave, “You’d be happy to know that I’ve decided I’m not going to do this alone anymore.” And as I walked out of the movie theater, I texted my roommates that if they ever forgot me like Peter Parker, I’d probably explode.

Sophia Kang is a junior writing about romance media in her column, “Love, Actually.” She is also an Arts and Entertainment editor at the Daily Trojan.